Cebu Pac to beef up flights to 5 int’l routes

MANILA, Philippines - Budget airline Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific) is set to mount additional flights to five international routes after getting the green light from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

Jorenz Tañada, vice president for corporate affairs of Cebu Pacific, said the low cost carrier got additional flight entitlements for destintions including Singapore, Myanmar, New Zealand, and Macau from Manila as well as Cebu – Hong Kong.

“We commend the CAB air panel for their wisdom in rendering decisions that allow Philippine carriers to expand services in international routes. This ultimately benefits the travelling public, as Cebu Pacific continues offering the lowest fares, and driving international arrivals aligned with the country’s tourism goals,” Tañada said.

The regulator granted Cebu Pacific seven flights weekly from Manila to New Zealand as well as an additional 1,260 entitlements from Manila to Singapore allowing it to upgrade its current daily Airbus A320 service to an Airbus A330 service.

Likewise, Tañada said CAB designated Cebu Pacific as an official Philippine carrier to New Zealand, Myanmar, and Canada.

Cebu Pacific Air is set to launch thrice weekly flights from Manila to Kuwait on Sept. 2 four times weekly flights from Manila to Sydney on Sept. 9.

He added that CAB also granted the airline’s opposition to the extension of the codeshare agreement between national flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) and Emirates on the Manila-Dubai route scheduled to expire in October.

Cebu Pacific operates an extensive route network serving 59 domestic routes and 36 international routes with a total of 2,403 scheduled weekly flights from six hubs including the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Clark International Airport, Davao International Airport, Iloilo International Airport, and Kalibo International Airport.